Fort Stockton

Town developed with the establishment of a military post in 1859. It was an outpost on the Butterfield Overland Mail Route at the crossing of the Old San Antonio Road and an ancient Comanche War Trail. It also had one of the earliest irrigated farming efforts in Texas; about 8,000 acres were irrigated as early as 1877. Today, this is the seat of Pecos County; a retail and shipping headquarters for vast ranching, natural gas and oil activities; and a major West Texas crossroads. Hunting is excellent for mule deer and pronghorn antelope.